Raising Money for the ward that made a difference to Lauren Cartwright's life

 

For Ward E39 - Children's Neurology at the QMC Hospital Nottingham

Lauren’s Story

I first fell in September 2009 although it wasn't until February 2010 that I collapsed and after numerous brain scans they found that I had a Chiari Malformation (this is where the cerebellum tonsils in your brain descend out the bottom of your skull, lessening the space for your spinal cord and brain stem causing symptoms such as – head-aches, pins and needles, numbness, sickness & many others). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnold%E2%80%93Chiari_malformation

In May 2010 I was taken to Ward E39 to undergo a Posterior fossa decompression of the upper cervical for Chiari Malformation - in which 3 areas of skull were removed. The Ward and all the staff were beyond amazing throughout my recovery, the level of care I received was amazing and they not only helped me cope they also made such a hard time much easier for my family to cope with. I am eternally grateful for the amazing work they do!

Ward E39 deals with a vast array of Neurological problems with Children up to the age of 18 - many undergo surgery whilst in their care. The staff who work on the ward are all incredible, they have an ability to deal with any situation with the upmost amount grace & care. They not only help the children through some of the hardest times of their lives but they also give so much family support which is so greatly needed to help a family deal with all that comes with having a child suffer an illness. The work they do is immeasurable they are quite simply Angels!

Mine and Karen’s reason for doing the challenge ride

Lauren has been a special young lady to me, the daughter of a good friend she began playing rugby for Burton RFC mini junior when she was 7 in the team I was one of the coaches. She played with skill, courage and spirit and developed into a fine rugby player amongst her peers of mainly boys and a couple of other girls. At the age of 12 she played girls only rugby and played to a high level actually playing at Twickenham. Her rugby career was taking off and was rightly destined for the highest level of the game before her illness stopped her in her tracks. I know she misses rugby like mad and what may have been, but I have been hugely impressed by the way Lauren has approached her illness not letting it beat her and fighting all the way to recovery, the same way she approached rugby. The condition is still evident and there are more hurdles to overcome but knowing Lauren she will jump every one.

In our small way we would like to help Lauren “give back” to those on Ward E39 that helped her so much during the first phase of her condition so please give what you can.

Karen (her first ever bike challenge) and I are cycling the W2W, Walney Island on England's west coast up over the Lake District, over the Pennines and then the North York Moors to arrive at Whitby on the east coast 3 days later on a very hilly challenge of 180miles in June. http://cyclingw2w.info/whitby_option.htm